


An Orphan in Paris - Alternate Ending

by FanGirlyBree



Series: Left 4 Dead Paris [2]
Category: Left 4 Dead (Video Games)
Genre: Afterlife, Alternate Ending, Death, F/M, Grief, M/M, Sadness, Witnessing Death, dealing with death, you'll probably hate me lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-20
Updated: 2020-07-20
Packaged: 2021-03-04 17:40:08
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25400263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FanGirlyBree/pseuds/FanGirlyBree
Summary: This was the original ending of the orphan in paris story so I thought I would update without getting rid of the old one.Nick and Ellis are tasked to find all of the non-infected people still left out in the open and bring them to the military for protection and testing.
Relationships: Ellis/Nick, Rochelle/Coach
Series: Left 4 Dead Paris [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1839637
Kudos: 10





	An Orphan in Paris - Alternate Ending

Ellis moaned softly as he rolled onto his side, the soft, albeit dirty blanket protecting his modesty. He tilted his head as he watched Nick, who lay on his back, smoking a cigarette slowly, almost as if in triumph. Ellis smiled gently, moving closer and snuggling into Nick’s side. Nick moaned, wrapping an arm around Ellis, pulling him into a half-embrace.

“One of our best fucks yet.” Nick murmured, his voice still gruff from the sex. Ellis couldn’t help the soft blush that reached his cheeks, but he didn’t pull away. He ran his fingers up Nick’s chest, enjoying the feeling of Nick’s soft chest hair beneath his rough mechanic fingers. They were holed up in a small apartment in Paris, Ellis had gushed about the view of the Eiffel Tower from the balcony. The city was close to deserted; there was a small military group nearby, working on clearing out the rest of the zombies. Nick and Ellis were technically working with the group, but Nick had somehow conned his way into getting free reign.

“The guys won’t leave us, right?” Ellis asked for the fifteenth time. Nick chuckled softly, shaking his head and taking another long drag from his cigarette.

“They won’t leave us. They’re gathering all of the immune, remember?” He asked softly, the smoke blowing away through the open balcony door. The gossamer curtains drifted through the gorgeous sunlight, moved by a faint breeze. “We’ve been with them for three years now, I doubt they’d leave us behind with the experience we have. Besides, you’ve seen how many zombies are left out there. They have to clear them out. We’ll go back to check on them in a week or so, get some supplies and come back to the apartment.”

“I kind of miss having Ro and Coach around.” Ellis murmured. Nick sighed lightly, choosing to take another long drag instead of replying. Rochelle had signed up with a ‘news’ team back at the military base, where most of the immunes had been relocated. Coach ran the gym, and the two of them had kind of settled down together. They even had a little girl, an adorable little one-year-old named Akira. Ellis adored her; he lavished attention on her whenever he wasn’t working. He had a small bag of toys that he’d found still in packages that he was planning on giving to her when they went back. The base was set up on one of the islands in Hawaii, as the zombies couldn’t survive in water. Hawaii had been amazing when they first arrived, but soon the constant heat got to Ellis, and Nick volunteered them both for the recon team.

“Mm, you just miss having Akira around.” Nick teased him softly. Ellis sighed, nodding.

“That’s probably part of it.” Ellis whispered. Nick finished his cigarette, flicking it toward the open door and smiling as it rolled off the edge. He frowned, hearing a smoker cough across the way. He kissed Ellis’ forehead as he slipped out of bed, not even bothering to put anything on as he pulled his rifle onto his shoulder, slouching over to the balcony. Ellis grabbed his magnum from the bedside table, ready to shoot the damn tongue if it decided to pull Nick in.

“I see it.” Nick murmured, taking aim through his scope. Ellis jumped as there was a loud shot that didn’t come from Nick’s gun. Nick lowered the gun, frowning deeply. “Someone else is out there.” He whispered. Ellis jumped up, pulling a pair of boxers on backwards before trotting over to the window, handing Nick a pair of binoculars.

“You see anyone?” Ellis asked breathlessly. Nick nodded, handing the binoculars back to Ellis.

“Fix your boxers and get dressed.” He said quickly. Ellis stumbled in his hurry to fix his boxers, pulling on a pair of loose jeans and a black T-shirt before strapping his guns around his waist.

“Who is it?” Ellis asked hurriedly, unnerved by Nick’s tone.

“A woman and a baby.” Nick said roughly, pulling his gun over his shoulder and leaving his shirt unbuttoned as he rushed out of the room. Ellis scooped up Nick’s magnum and a first aid kit, rushing out after him. Ellis tossed Nick his magnum as soon as they reached the streets, taking out any zombies in their way as Nick led them across the street to the small restaurant that had once served as a safe room. They entered quietly, hearing the wailing of the child from the back room. Ellis paled as a woman screamed, followed by a vicious cry of a hunter. A shiver involuntarily ran up Ellis’ spine, and he nodded Nick forward.

“Got your back.” He whispered. Nick pushed open the door to the kitchens, reacting quickly as the hunter pounced. Nick hit the zombie hard in the face with the barrel of his gun mid-jump, sending it crashing to the ground in a daze. He emptied a bullet into the hunter’s head coldly, turning his eyes to the pantry, the hard metal door closed on the baby’s cries.

“Blood.” Nick whispered, pointing unnecessarily to the trail of blood leading to the pantry. “If you can understand me, I’m coming in.” Nick called through the door before slowly opening it. Ellis felt the blood drain from his face as he entered behind Nick to find a beautiful, bleeding woman cradling a toddler in her arms.

“Is the baby hurt?” Ellis asked anxiously. Nick shook his head.

“I don’t think so.” He turned his attention to the woman. “Can you speak English?” He asked. The woman quivered.

“Je ne parle pas l'anglais.” She replied in French. Nick groaned.

“I only understand a little bit of French.” He murmured. “Uh… Es-tu blessé?” He asked in bad French. The woman nodded, moving her hand to reveal a deep gash. “Nous pouvons aider. Il y a des hommes à proximité qui peut vous guérir.”

“Non, il n'y a aucun point. Prenez ma fille, garder son coffre-fort. Son nom est Nicolette, pour son père Nicolas.”

“What did she say?” Ellis asked, recognizing Nick’s name, which honestly confused him. “Does she know you?”

“No, she says that the baby is named after her father, Nicholas.” Nick replied, frowning down at the sobbing toddler. “She says that there’s no point in us taking her to the military to be healed. She just wants us to take Nicolette.” Nick sighed, nodding to the woman and relating to her in French that they would take the baby. She breathed a sigh of relief, turning to give a tearful last goodbye that Nicolette would probably never remember.

Ellis felt tears gather in his eyes even though he couldn’t understand what the woman was saying. Nick blinked in surprise as he noticed, sighing deeply and pulling Ellis to his chest with one hand and a gruff groan. “Come on, kid, it’ll be okay.” Nick told Ellis softly, tightening his fingers in Ellis’ curly hair. Ellis sniffled against Nick’s chest, hiccupping as he bit back a sob. Nick released Ellis as the woman spoke again. “Can you take Nicolette, fireball? I can’t leave her like this.” He whispered, turning his pained gaze to Ellis. “I’ll be quick, but I need you to wait outside the room.”

“Okay.” Ellis whispered, taking the still-sobbing toddler into his arms. “It’s okay baby, you’re okay.” Ellis whispered, stroking her hair gently. He met Nick’s gaze, feeling his heart clench at the pain in Nick’s eyes. “I… I can, if you want.” Ellis offered, though Nick started shaking his head before he even finished.

“No you can’t, Ellis.” Nick whispered. Ellis kissed Nick softly on the cheek before nodding, leaving the room. Ellis covered Nicolette’s ears as the gunshot was fired, and a tired-looking Nick exited the freezer a few moments later. Ellis knew better than to say something first, so he just followed Nick silently back to their apartment. The silence was broken only by Nicolette’s soft sobs, but she clung to Ellis’ shirt, which he took as a good sign. The poor kid probably had lost more people in her short years than Ellis could imagine. He realized how lucky he’d been… Keith had made it through, as well as his mom. The three people he’d battled zombies with were all still with him… and Nick; most importantly, Nick was still here. Ellis didn’t know what he would do without the sarcastic asshole of a conman.

Nicolette had cried herself to sleep on the way back to the apartment, so Ellis took a blanket from the closet, wrapping her up in it and laying her on the chaise lounge in the corner. He swallowed before turning to face Nick, who had slumped onto the bed, his head in his hands. Ellis crawled up onto the bed behind him, wrapping his arms around Nick from behind.

“Nick.” He whispered, kissing Nick’s shoulder blade softly. Nick heaved a mournful sigh and Ellis whimpered softly.

“Promise me something.” Nick said, still behind his hands. “Promise me that I’ll never have to do that for you. Promise me that you won’t get jumped by a fucking hunter and I won’t be there to save you. Promise…” Nick broke off with a shaky breath and Ellis realized that Nick was crying. Ellis whimpered, blinking back his own tears.

“We’ll always be together, Nick.” Ellis whispered. “I promise.”

Nick turned to hold Ellis tight, only to find his arms empty. Empty like they’d been for years. Nick couldn’t hold back the tears now. He curled up on the bed, shaking with grief. He’d been pretending for so long. Pretending that things were okay. Like the love of his life hadn’t been killed by a hunter while Nick was pinned by a piece of rubble that a tank had thrown on top of him. The others were too far away, fighting off the tank, and Nick never forgot those screams, calling for Nick to help. In his agony Nick chopped his own leg off with a machete. He chopped that monster to pieces, but once the hunter was done with his gorging, he left Ellis barely alive and bleeding out. 

Ellis turned his face to Nick’s and Nick could hardly see him through the tears and the blood. 

“Come on, kid. You’re fine.” Nick murmured, pulling Ellis into his arms. “You’re gonna be alright, fireball. You can’t leave me alone.” 

“Nick, I love you.” Ellis said weakly, his soft blue eyes red with tears. 

“I love you too, Fireball. Don’t go. Please, please. PLEASE.” Nick begged, choking on his tears now as Ellis went limp in his arms. Coach and Rochelle had to drag him away to the rescue chopper, but they didn’t fight him when he dragged Ellis’ body along with them. He deserved a proper burial if anybody did. 

Nick kind of lost it for a while after that. Rochelle and Coach knew that he was seeing Ellis, talking to him, but Rochelle thought maybe that was his way of coping. They’d encouraged him to come to paris and now he had to deal with this fucking mess all over again. He shook as he pulled a pistol off of his belt, putting it in his mouth. 

“Nick.” Ellis’ voice cut him off. Nick closed his eyes, his hand on the trigger. 

“You’re not real.” Nick murmured. 

“Nick.” Ellis replied, and Nick felt Ellis’ hand on the gun, pulling it out of Nick’s reach. Nick looked up to see Ellis looking clean, handsome, and fucking gorgeous as ever. 

“Are you a ghost?” 

“Maybe an angel?” Ellis shrugged, not seeming to quite understand himself. “But I’m safe. And I’m waiting for you, Nick.” 

“So then let me,” Nick sobbed, reaching for the gun again. Ellis shook his head sadly, tears streaming down his flawless face. 

“We don’t take cowards, Nick.” He murmured, coming close and holding Nick’s cheeks, resting his forehead against Nick’s. “And you. Are not. A coward, Nicholas.” 

“I miss you.” 

“I miss you too.” Ellis sobbed and Nick could taste the salty tears on his cheeks. “But I’m here. Always.” Nick leaned in, kissing Ellis deeply and he felt the kiss returned, but when he opened his eyes, Ellis was gone again. 

Nick sighed, turning his attention over to the sleeping baby. “Nicolette. Nicolette Ellis.” He murmured. “I’ll take care of you until it’s my turn to go. I think Ellis would like that.”


End file.
